Substandard Magic Items

This PDF, by Bret Boyd, takes the concept of scroll mishaps and applies it to magic items in general. Scroll mishaps occur when a user tries to cast a spell beyond his current ability (i.e. when his reach exceeds his grasp, although the opportunity is there for success). Substandard magic items come at this from the other direction - competent spellcasters use shortcuts and inferior components to arrive at a cheaper, yet fallible, magic item. These casters have the ability to create a normal item yet they either cannot or choose not to.

This PDF includes rules for creating, using, and identifying substandard magic items. Whether you're in a rush the next time you craft a magic sword or the DM sneaks an inferior suit of magic armor into the next pile of treasure the rules in this PDF can lead to fun, sometimes disastrous results.

A generally useful product that covers the usefulness and eventual breakdown of cheaply made magic items. It covers all the schools and power levels.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: [...]

This small product does a decent job introducing the concept of a substandard or faulty magic item. The rules to make a substandard magic are simple to add and not anymore complicated than the existing magic item creation rules. Each school of magic [...]

Buying PDFs can be tricky. The cost little and sometimes they read like it. Sometimes, though, you come across a kernel of coolness that makes you wonder why it wasn't incorporated into the core books. I once read an account of a character who had [...]

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